The Game of our Lives by Owl_Skip

[raw]
made by Owl_Skip for Ludum Dare 46 (COMPO)

For the complete experience, please use headphones and view full screen.

Details

Music, Art and Coding by Owl_Skip.

If you like myMusic, you can find more at https://spoti.fi/2xG2RZT

SourceCode - https://github.com/timrcoding/The-Game-of-Living

A few thoughts

This has been a tough week for all of us. In setting up for Ludum Dare, I decided I wanted to make a game that instilled a sense of calm and thoughtfulness, rather than one of manic action.

For this reason, I took inspiration from the Mathematician John Conway, who passed away earlier this week.

Conway is best known for his ‘Game of Life’ - ‘a never ending simulation of cell duplication. He was an influence for me, as well as many others in Music ,Art and Games. In the game, cells can only survive if they can join together. If they do they can create things of wonderful complexity.

While John’s cells joined together for survival, we have been forced to distance ourselves. I found this both ironic and tragic. At this time, the hardest thing to keep alive is our sense of self.

This game is not intended to be played for long. Perhaps it isn’t a game at all. It is a space for your thoughts and reflections. You can use it how you like. I hope you have a great Game Jam.

Ratings

Overall 280th 3.696⭐ 71🧑‍⚖️
Fun 970th 2.592⭐ 73🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 295th 3.57⭐ 73🧑‍⚖️
Theme 835th 3.261⭐ 73🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 223th 3.866⭐ 73🧑‍⚖️
Audio 4th 4.439⭐ 76🧑‍⚖️
Humor 796th 2.082⭐ 57🧑‍⚖️
Mood 14th 4.356⭐ 75🧑‍⚖️
Given 20🗳️ 57🗨️

Feedback

Alex Mulkerrin
19. Apr 2020 · 19:02 UTC
Beautiful game there. I really liked that you decided to add a voice-over to add to the experience. Just like Conway's game of life little clusters of cells do the best. I still liked making as many as I could in close confines for the nice particle effects.
🎤 Owl_Skip
19. Apr 2020 · 19:43 UTC
Thanks!
taran.unraveler
19. Apr 2020 · 20:10 UTC
Liked the music and the voice. Incredible experience! Well done!
OhMyGuigui
19. Apr 2020 · 20:20 UTC
Beautiful music and voice-over :)
Very inspiring, well done !
munmungames
19. Apr 2020 · 20:20 UTC
Very relaxing, and great tribute to Conway. The music is sweet!
bereg
19. Apr 2020 · 20:20 UTC
That was a great experience. I liked it a lot. Music, sound, the relaxing atmosphere. Everything we need in this uneasy times. Thank you!
plantleaf
19. Apr 2020 · 20:20 UTC
That was so fun! The music reminds me a bit of the alto's adventure music. It also has a very relaxing vibe. Thanks for making and sharing this!
🎤 Owl_Skip
19. Apr 2020 · 20:25 UTC
Well aren't you just nice, nice people!
TrKo
19. Apr 2020 · 20:28 UTC
Love it!
MisterKeefe
19. Apr 2020 · 20:57 UTC
This was so great, a good change of pace and a nice opportunity to reflect -- thank you.
🎤 Owl_Skip
19. Apr 2020 · 21:14 UTC
Thanks very much @misterkeefe, really liked your game.
Master_Dz
19. Apr 2020 · 21:30 UTC
Wow, it's a very relaxing experience. And you had a reason to do this! Great job man
SoupornoGhosh
19. Apr 2020 · 21:33 UTC
A little different than what I had imagined. Good job. Loved the voice over.
BGameDev
19. Apr 2020 · 21:42 UTC
Nice, I need this calm and relax after this two days of coding all day long :)
SSStormy
19. Apr 2020 · 21:53 UTC
This is exactly what I needed right now.

The sentiment that the game shares is something I mesh with a lot and has influenced my decisions during this jam.

I am glad you made this.

Thank you & stay safe <3
Wilson Taylor
19. Apr 2020 · 22:27 UTC
This is a load off. Perhaps what's needed right now. Very cool.
fakefrogsonly
19. Apr 2020 · 22:32 UTC
I love this! Very thoughtful and calming. Thank you for making it :)
Shouji
19. Apr 2020 · 22:51 UTC
This was really relaxing and very visually pleasing. However I would agree with your final statement, perhaps this isn't quite a game. Its something different, but just as good as one.
Stevis93
19. Apr 2020 · 23:06 UTC
Like you said, I wouldn't call it a game. That being said, I did enjoy it.
cirno
19. Apr 2020 · 23:43 UTC
I love your music and colorful light effects in this game. This is a really fascinating job.
zimny11
20. Apr 2020 · 00:09 UTC
So nice and calm. I like it.
WZQXRYS
20. Apr 2020 · 00:49 UTC
Very calming, i see the game of life resemblance i remember playing game of life as my first few games on my grandpas old computer, that and chip.
Galgris
20. Apr 2020 · 00:54 UTC
Love the idea! Beautiful. Of course you should create a game of life with the "keep it alive" theme, I didn't come to think of it though. Again, I love the idea!
Ciber_Turtle
20. Apr 2020 · 00:57 UTC
Very Relaxing, I like it!
Paroxysmal
20. Apr 2020 · 01:09 UTC
Relaxing...after a stressful 2 days.
madbookstudios
20. Apr 2020 · 01:10 UTC
You have such a fantastic narration voice! I found the experience to be quite moving. I've found Conway's game of life fascinating since I was little, and with the events of the past few weeks, your submission creates a wonderful homage to a great mathematician and offers some very peaceful respite during these times.
ubershmekel
20. Apr 2020 · 01:10 UTC
Relaxing. I wish I could do more with the cells. I kind of wanted to use them as brush strokes. At the end of the day, I wasn't able to create much with it. But your voice is amazing. Thank you.
lapinchatware
20. Apr 2020 · 01:17 UTC
Excellent audio work! Design is interesting and minimalistic yet complex. Your right, you don't play this game for long but it's an experience. Good work!
Halite
20. Apr 2020 · 01:37 UTC
You made a great short experience. It's really relaxing and relieving.
Nick Barrash
20. Apr 2020 · 01:49 UTC
Nice vibes! You sound frighteningly like Bennet Foddy.
Semmler
20. Apr 2020 · 01:59 UTC
A short but nice and relaxing experience. Only the sound that can be heard when clicking was a bit annoying.
MayhemGaming
20. Apr 2020 · 02:10 UTC
Incredibly soothing! I love the message, feels like something we all need to hear
CaptainAbi
20. Apr 2020 · 02:13 UTC
This was very soothing, great music
rjerez192
20. Apr 2020 · 02:20 UTC
Exactly what we needed after a full weekend of programming. Very relaxing.
Thor Lucas
20. Apr 2020 · 02:30 UTC
Wow! I loved that. Was very much not expecting that. The music and ambience were fantastic. It was a pleasant surprise :) Thank you!
PrincessChooChoo
20. Apr 2020 · 02:35 UTC
This was lovely, already very atmospheric, but the voiceover was extra calming.
:relieved:
Barelos
20. Apr 2020 · 02:35 UTC
Very interesting game, I love the atmosphere and the vibe you get. You have a beautiful voice, perfect for narration. In the game of life you have a very clear understanding of the rules and by following those very simple rules you get a complex result. In your game I wans't sure what the rules was so I didn't ended up getting engaged. That said it is a beautiful game in its simplicity and a very polished one for such a short time frame.
TheseusInABottle
20. Apr 2020 · 02:41 UTC
Ridiculously peaceful. I appreciate this for what it is. I don't know that I would call it a real game but I do think I would call it a bit of an art piece.

Also your narration reminds me of Bennett Foddy's quotes when you fall down in Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy which is oddly juxtaposed with the relaxing nature of your game.
mhykah
20. Apr 2020 · 02:49 UTC
That was a beautiful experience. The sounds and music are amazing and you have a very calming voice. Definitely going to be sharing this one around with friends after the jam.
GoblinQueen
20. Apr 2020 · 03:04 UTC
Nice atmosphere and intent. You nailed the relaxation. Thanks for a pleasant game!
Dreamer
20. Apr 2020 · 03:34 UTC
I think games are also a very powerful art carrier, like movie books, but they are more expressive than them. You do a great job. Games not only bring fun to people, but also allow people to have other feelings and gains. this is necessary
kevinworkman
20. Apr 2020 · 03:34 UTC
This was a really nice change of pace. I liked the idea of the circles adding up to something more beautiful when they were closer to each other. Nice work.

I also made a game inspired by John Conway. Check it out if you want!
BlackOpsBen
20. Apr 2020 · 04:09 UTC
I like a good sit back and listen kinda of "game." This was nice! I would have loved to have you continue to talk about stuff for much longer.
gimblll
20. Apr 2020 · 05:13 UTC
A calm and meditative experience, thank you.
OfirMa85
20. Apr 2020 · 06:41 UTC
Amazing atmosphere! I ended up just staring at the circles moving around for a while.
🎤 Owl_Skip
20. Apr 2020 · 07:11 UTC
Thanks @ofirma85, that's the idea!
Team Prosit
20. Apr 2020 · 10:03 UTC
We really needed something like this after two days of craziness, thank you. Relaxing
Kinshuk_thebest
20. Apr 2020 · 14:00 UTC
REALLY Relaxing. Love the particles. Great music. LOVE IT!
joonamo
20. Apr 2020 · 15:05 UTC
Wow! This game seriously gave me shivers (in a good way). Great music and athmosphere!

I made another game with the rules of Game of Life, but couldn't quite figure out how to make complex patterns in this one. Unlike my game, this one wasn't meant for optimizing your cellular automata, but as a relaxing experience, and I think it succeeded excellently in that.
Qazikol
20. Apr 2020 · 15:23 UTC
Makes me really happy to see entries like this that stretch the definition of game, and from looking above it looks like I'm not the only one! Love the Eno-y Reich-y music, and those are some gorgeous particle effects.
🎤 Owl_Skip
20. Apr 2020 · 15:25 UTC
Thanks @qazikol, really good to hear.
Sarrixx
20. Apr 2020 · 16:55 UTC
Super chill game. Great aesthetic, sets the mood perfectly. Kudos.
johnjoemcbob
20. Apr 2020 · 18:09 UTC
Fantastic atmosphere! I love the particles that remain
dhim
20. Apr 2020 · 19:45 UTC
Where is the Poetic Rating !!
Love the art, was trying to figure out the game of life aspect of the the circles when your voice came up. It startled me in a good way.
I enjoyed the mood, and the sound track.
thank you for this refreshing moment
Mykola
20. Apr 2020 · 19:49 UTC
It's beautiful. I really love the music and the graphics is great. Voicing is awesome, reminded me the voice acting from "Getting over it". Very good to go into one's thoughts. I did miss a game element though.

Small note, when playing the web version, the resolution seems too big for my monitor, so I have to use scroll bars to get to the game screen edges. Because of that also the full screen button can't be reached. It might be just me, but I had the same problem with my game and I fixed it by reducing resolution in itch.io to 1280 x 720.

Other than that, great job and a piece of great art. Thank you for creating it!
EntityNull
21. Apr 2020 · 00:03 UTC
Really thoughtful message. Nice little experience too.
KunoNoOni
21. Apr 2020 · 02:02 UTC
This was a beautiful, relaxing and powerful game. I loved the music and the particle effect in the background. Amazing job!
wasd
21. Apr 2020 · 08:45 UTC
Solid entry. The atmosphere was good.
Bonyok77
21. Apr 2020 · 09:15 UTC
This is a really fresh clicker game, but I think that the clicking sfx is too annoying, makes me can't hear the voice overs clearly.
Team-on
21. Apr 2020 · 10:36 UTC
Great meditation game
Kiln
21. Apr 2020 · 19:18 UTC
Beautiful non-game, and pseudo-tribute to Conway! It definitely has a very peaceful and relaxing vibe to it, and while yes it's very simple, it's still fun in a way.
Foursay
21. Apr 2020 · 19:34 UTC
the most special and best game i have ever played in LD46. You really make the theme impressive, really fantastic job! especially like your music track and voiceback --- makes me calm and relax but somehow want to cry. Keep it alive, dude
🎤 Owl_Skip
22. Apr 2020 · 07:47 UTC
Thanks very much @foursay. Really nice to hear.
Teto
22. Apr 2020 · 14:51 UTC
This was really interesting and atmospheric. I agree, I wouldn't call it a game but was a calming amidst all the games I've been playing and could make a really great meditation tool!
kaeveris
22. Apr 2020 · 14:57 UTC
That's a very cool experience! I liked the music and voice over, they made the game really relaxing almost like a meditation
OldBlack
23. Apr 2020 · 21:43 UTC
Like you said, not much of a game, but I like the idea, and it comes with a very chill mood which clearly a lot of people appreciate - mission accomplished there. Music and particle effects are satisfying. My primary criticism is that the breath sound effect definitely needs to have more variation and perhaps be a little softer.
G.A.GameStudio
25. Apr 2020 · 03:50 UTC
This game was very cool and deep.
G.A.GameStudio
25. Apr 2020 · 03:50 UTC
This game was very cool and deep.
Kaisean Games
25. Apr 2020 · 22:17 UTC
Wow, I was about to close the game when I heard the voice.
Veeery nice.

Although I promised myself to not rate any games related to the covid, I decided to make an exemption for yours. You have addressed the situation in a meaningful way, and I really appreciate that.

I can't say I understand the exact mechanics between the cells in this game, but I like it very much. Doesn't feel like a game though, but it is strangely satisfying.

Keep up the good work.
Mika la Grand
01. May 2020 · 20:35 UTC
The music and mood are great, but I would have liked some more gameplay. Like, you narrating on the creations of the player.
Jupiter_Hadley
09. May 2020 · 11:22 UTC
Lovely little concept. I included it in my Ludum Dare 46 compilation video series, if you want to take a look. :) https://youtu.be/S9pVfrriZ3E
🎤 Owl_Skip
09. May 2020 · 17:13 UTC
@jupiter-hadley. Thanks very much!